


Happy Endings Redux: Daredevil Edition

by menel



Category: Daredevil (Comics), Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Infidelity, M/M, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27777874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/menel/pseuds/menel
Summary: Matt and Frank meet.What happens next?If you want a happy ending, try A.
Relationships: Frank Castle/Matt Murdock
Comments: 18
Kudos: 24





	Happy Endings Redux: Daredevil Edition

**Author's Note:**

> This is a writing exercise of sorts, and a homage to Margaret Atwood's great short story, "Happy Endings." A link is provided to the original short story at the end.

Matt and Frank meet.  
What happens next?  
If you want a happy ending, try A. 

**A.**

Matt and Frank fall in love. Matt is an up-and-coming lawyer in Hell’s Kitchen; Frank is a decorated officer in the U.S. marine corps. One day, they meet at a coffee shop in New York City. The place is Matt’s regular coffee shop, and Frank randomly stops by while in-between tours of duty. He’s visiting his friend Curtis, who lives in the city. Frank unintentionally moves his seat at the same time that Matt is passing by his table. Matt’s walking cane knocks against Frank’s leg and he trips, spilling his coffee all over Frank. Frank catches Matt before he falls. They are both embarrassed and deeply apologetic. Frank offers to buy Matt another cup of coffee; Matt offers to pay for Frank’s dry-cleaning. 

It’s love at first sight, even though Matt is blind.

They begin going out after that. Six months later, they move in together. Matt’s career takes off. He is making a name for himself at the District Attorney’s office. Frank retires from the military, decorated with medals for bravery after his last tour in Afghanistan. He enters the private sector with his best friend, Billy Russo. Together, they set up a successful private security company where Frank trains the troops and Billy runs the business side. 

Matt eventually becomes District Attorney. Later, he runs for mayor of New York City and wins. He uses his power and influence to change the city for the better. His number one enemy is Wilson Fisk, but Matt is able to beat the Kingpin of Crime through legal and official means. Frank takes care of Matt’s personal security. 

They have a very stimulating sex life. They adopt a dog. Despite their busy jobs, they are able to go on regular fun and relaxing vacations. Frank likes going on road trips best. They take up challenging hobbies. Eventually they die. That is the end of the story.

**B.**

Matt falls in love with Frank, but Frank doesn’t fall in love with Matt. This is because Frank has changed since the first time that he and Matt met at the coffee shop all those years ago. He’s become hardened and bitter over the death of his wife and children. He has single-minded focus. He craves revenge. 

Matt has a small law firm with his best friend, Foggy Nelson. They do mostly pro bono work, helping the folks of Hell’s Kitchen. Foggy met Frank years ago, just when he and Matt had first graduated from Columbia Law School and they were still setting up their practice. He remembers that Frank Castle, who was kind and caring and good for Matt. He doesn’t think Frank Castle is good for Matt now, but Matt has a martyr-complex and can’t see that.

Frank visits Matt at his apartment late at night. He brings whiskey with him and pours his heart out to Matt. Matt listens patiently. They drink. They have sex. Matt wakes up the next morning alone. This happens several times a week. Matt isn’t happy about the situation because he knows that Frank is not emotionally involved with him. He recognizes that Frank is just using him, but he also believes that this phase with Frank will pass. He misses the old Frank, but this new Frank has been through too much. If only Matt is patient, Frank will see him for who Matt is. He’ll remember what they had before, and then they can have that again. Matt will wait Frank out.

But Frank is not the old Frank. Vengeance has been carved into his heart and he tracks down the killers of his wife and children. He discovers a deep-rooted government conspiracy dating to his time in Afghanistan and goes on a killing spree. Matt can only watch helplessly as Frank turns into a cold-blooded, ruthless executioner. Nothing he says gets through to Frank. Frank leaves him and takes on the mantle of The Punisher, discarding Matt in favor of punishing criminals with his own brand of justice. 

Matt is heartbroken. Foggy consoles him, but is secretly relieved. After a suitable time, Matt begins dating again. He saves a young woman, Milla Donovan, from an accident. Milla is also blind. Their relationship begins rockily. Matt is still hurting from Frank and Milla has her own hang-ups, but they make it work. Eventually, they get married. Matt and Foggy’s law firm expands. They are successful lawyers now, although they continue to take pro bono cases. 

Matt and Milla are happy. They get married, but don’t have kids. They have a stimulating sex life. They take on challenging hobbies. They go on fun and relaxing vacations. Eventually they die. That is the end of the story.

**C.**

Frank falls in love with Matt, but Matt doesn’t fall in love with Frank. Frank is older than Matt, and is in a stable marriage with two kids. But he feels an odd dissatisfaction with his life, a restlessness ever since he retired from the marines. He thought he’d be happy, spending more time with his lovely wife and charming kids, but he realizes that that’s not the case. He feels aimless now. Purposeless. The world doesn’t make sense without a gun in his hand.

One day, Frank bumps into Matt at a coffee shop. He spills coffee all over Matt’s nice suit. He apologizes and offers to take care of the dry-cleaning. Matt brushes the mishap aside, flashing Frank a white-teeth, devil-may-care-smile behind those red-tinted glasses. Frank instantly recognizes that Matt is bad news. He’s a player, but Frank doesn’t care. 

It’s love at first sight for Frank, even though Matt is blind.

Matt isn’t married, but he’s involved in a turbulent relationship with a Greek heiress named Elektra Natchios. They’re plastered all over Page Six. Elektra is flashy and wealthy, carefree and wild – everything that Frank is not. Frank thinks that Elektra is a bad influence on Matt, but he doesn’t know if he’s much better. Matt is not ready to settle down and neither is Elektra. Frank settled down long ago, but can’t bring himself to leave his family, not even for Matt. 

They stay together, off and on. Maria, Frank’s wife, doesn’t know about Matt, but Elektra knows about Frank. Matt and Elektra have a more ‘open’ relationship, but Frank feels like scum for cheating on his wife. Frank doesn’t understand why Matt continues to see him, but he doesn’t complain. _He_ shouldn’t be seeing Matt at all.

One day, Elektra’s father is assassinated by Wilson Fisk and Elektra changes. She’s still flashy and wealthy and wild, but the carefree element of her personality is gone. Now, Elektra is focused on revenge. She’s going to make Wilson Fisk pay for what he’s done. At this point, Matt is hopelessly in love with Elektra and Frank falls by the wayside. Matt makes Elektra’s quest for revenge his own. He withdraws from the law firm that he started with his best friend, Foggy Nelson. He and Elektra join a secret ninja army called The Hand to take on Wilson Fisk. They both disappear from Frank’s life and he never sees them again. 

Frank stays with Maria. With Matt out of his life, Frank is able to rekindle his romance with his wife. Their sex life becomes stimulating again. They take on interesting hobbies. Frank starts his own construction company and does well. When he retires, he’s able to live comfortably with Maria. Their kids have grown up and settled into their own lives. Eventually, Frank and Maria die. That is the end of the story.

**D.**

Matt and Frank meet in a coffee shop in Matt’s neighborhood. Frank puts his foot out, stretching his legs as he waits for his friend Curtis. Matt trips over Frank’s leg, and spills his coffee all over Frank. He apologizes and offers to pay for Frank’s dry-cleaning. Frank is horrified that he tripped a blind man and he buys Matt another cup of coffee. 

It is not love at first sight, even though Matt is blind. 

Matt is joined by his friends, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. Curtis, who is never late, meets Frank at his table. Frank and Matt sit at opposite ends of the coffee shop. They never speak to each other again.

**E.**

But Matt and Karen eventually get married. This is before Karen is murdered by one of Matt’s enemies, and Matt, who is consumed by Catholic guilt, vows to get his revenge. He becomes the vigilante known as Daredevil. 

**F.**

Meanwhile, Frank faces a tragedy of his own. His family is murdered at the park in front of his eyes. He’s powerless to stop it. He should’ve died that day as well, but Frank has a hard head. Hard enough to survive a bullet. He goes on a rampage of his own, tracking and killing the people who murdered his family. He uncovers a government conspiracy and follows it all the way to the top. He becomes the vigilante known as the Punisher.

**G.**

The thing about Matt and Frank is that the happy ending isn’t meant for them. Happy endings are fake. All endings are fake. The only true ending is that _Matt and Frank die_. 

Matt and Frank are captivating because of their characters. Their stories feature love, loss, betrayal, revenge – the good stuff. The Greek epic stuff. We call those themes. There’s only so much you can do with plot, which is a _what_ and a _what_ and a _what_. How and Why have always been more interesting. 

To use an old cliché, it’s not the ending that really matters. It’s the journey. _How_ you get there. That is Matt and Frank’s story. 

So, tell me their story. Matt and Frank meet. What happens next?

**Author's Note:**

> Read Margaret Atwood's original short story here: https://www.napavalley.edu/people/LYanover/Documents/English%20123/English%20123%20Margaret%20Atwood%27s%20HappyEndings.pdf
> 
> Everything belongs to Marvel and Netflix. No infringement is intended; no profit is being made.


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